Dawn of a Prodigy
by criticalkill
Summary: All throughout ones life there are four years that really define someone as who they are. What road they'll take, what kind of person they'll be, and what kind of people they'll commit themselves to. High school is never as easy as they imagined it would be. And Fox McCloud is learning that the hard way.
1. Chapter 1

_**What's up everyone I'm here with a re-upload of the first chapter of my story Dawn of a Prodigy. This is what I would consider a very slow story. Not too much drama or action, it was a story inspired by other stories. One of those things were when you see someone else do it you instantly want to do it too. **_

**Chapter One: New Acquaintances Leads To New Problems**

"I'm just saying that they could at least make the tests a little easier." I was currently making my way to the cafeteria on the third floor with my friend Falco after 4th hour.

And just like every other test day Falco was complaining, "I don't understand how they expect me to understand this shit!"

I could only chuckle in response, "It's called listening, maybe if you tried it more often you would understand how easy these tests actually are."

He seemed unfazed by my response, "I think they should just get rid of all the tests, save everyone the trouble."

I gave a heavy sigh before continuing, "Falco, that's the same thing you say every time there's a test, and honestly, it's starting to get _really_ annoying."

Falco, for once in his life, actually looked like he was thinking. Now, I've seen some weird things in my life, but this was like something straight out of the twilight zone. I don't mean any harm to Falco and his intellect, but he isn't the "thinking" type. And usually when we get into one of our insult arguments he never misses a beat. So seeing him actually think about a comeback, if that's what he's doing, then this is a first on multiple levels.

After what seemed like hours of us walking in silence, but was probably only ten minutes, Falco finally said something, "Annoying? You've called me quite a bit of names in the past like prick, dick, asshole, douche bag, and so on and so forth, but never ever have you called me annoying."

For once, I was ready to rock 'n' roll, "Yeah well, I've never actually seen you thinking before, so I guess there's a first for everything."

I thought we were just going to drop this and be done with it but I guess Falco just couldn't let it go, "So, how annoying was I exactly?"

I was already bored with our conversation, but this was just getting outrageous, "We do you care so much?"

Again, I was prepared for one of Falco's witty comebacks, but what I got instead was much more interesting, "I don't know."

I don't if it was the fact that I was truly starting to hate the way Falco was acting, or if I was just in a bad mood but my response was rather harsh, "Falco, what the fuck is wrong with you! I mean come on, all I did was call you annoying and apparently that's enough to completely fuck with your normal train of thought? What happened to you being the "King of Comebacks?" I mean really, is I don't know the best response you could come up with? I've heard of people being slow in some situations, but for fuck's sake you apparently really help, huh?"

Falco just stood there, with a look of complete shock painted all over his face, "Dude, calm down, I was just asking a question."

With whatever that's making me a dick still present in my attitude, I really let Falco have it, "Well do you honestly want me to answer to your question!"

All he did was nod his head as he directed his gaze downward, "Fine then, if you really want an answer then here it is! You're acting like a complete child! We're in high school and here you are complaining about a fucking test! Man up already Falco! How many people do you know that find something to complain about twenty four seven! Seriously, Slippy even acts more like an adult than you sometimes, and that is just sad!"

To anyone that was watching me yell at Falco it must have looked fairly odd considering he was at least three inches taller than me. And yet here I was making him stare at the floor from what was probably shame.

I have to admit, I was acting like a complete jackass but I couldn't help it. Falco was just really pissing me off, "Listen, I'm sorry for acting like this, but I'm just in a bad mood, and your complaining isn't helping."

Falco seemed to perk-up after hearing this and I could sense his normal self-rising back to the surface, "I understand, you were just venting some of you anger and frustration right?"

Now that I was back to my normal self as well, our conversation went back to a normal state, "Yeah, I just can't deal with all this shit right now, especially with what happened two weeks ago."

Having a friend like Falco was pretty beneficial to me. He was so carefree and laid back, and no matter how bad you chew him out and get in his face, he would never get angry enough to make the confrontation physical. Not only was he a decent friend, but he usually knew when enough was enough.

He also knew when not to pry into personnel matters, "I know, and I can't even imagine how you do it. But I worry about you dude, I mean, you show like no emotion sometimes. And that isn't always a good thing, especially with these circumstances."

My life wasn't exactly at one of its high points, and it definitely showed, but I try my hardest to hide it in public, "Yeah, but these are my problems, not yours. That and you're not really the first person I would want to talk to about how I'm feeling."

He just shrugged, which was good because I knew he was back to his old self, "What can I say? Emotions and all wussy shit were never really my thing. In fact, I'm more of an "in-the-now" kind of guy, ya know? Leave all those emotions for later."

I just shook my head. Sure Falco was a good friend, but he could be a lost cause sometimes, "Falco, what the hell do you plan on doing when we graduate?"

He again just shrugged, "I don't know. I'll probably get a job, meet a girl, buy a house, get married, have a child, retire, grow old, and then die...I don't know! I don't plan that far ahead Fox."

I gave him a heavy before continuing or conversation, "You really should dude. Hell we're seniors and graduation is only four months away!"

He seemed a little uneasy, probably because he's just now realizing he's running out of time, "Well yeah, and hopefully by then I'll have a plan. But as for now, I'll just worry about what is happening right now."

I couldn't help but grin as a funny thought entered my mind, and apparently Falco noticed this, "And what the hell is so damn amusing?"

_'This is going to be great'_ was the only thought going through my mind as I responded, "Oh just the look that will be on your face when your mom kicks your ass out in four months,"

Falco actually looked worried for once, "You don't think she would actually do that do you?"

As fun as it would have been to get into one of our very numerous verbal fights, I decided to just be honest, "I don't think you have anything to worry about dude, your mom would never do anything like that."

Even though I was being completely honest he still seemed skeptical, "Are you being serious? Because now you have me worried."

I just chuckled, "Yeah I'm being honest with you, I'm sure your parents would never leave you out on your ass."

Again relief seemed to overtake the falcon as he realized his ass was safe. But he still had something else on his mind I guess, "So, as long were talking about it, what do you plan on doing after high school?"

The question caught me off-guard. Here I was, grilling one of my friends about his plans for after graduation, and yet I have no idea what I plan on doing. Just as I was about to say that I didn't have any plans, the perfect answer came to me, "Well, I don't have good enough grades or a good enough athletic background for any scholarships, I can honestly say I hate my job, and as of two weeks ago I don't have any parents. So I was thinking of doing something in the military, kind of like a new life or a fresh start."

Falco's only response was a nod as we finally entered the cafeteria. For some reason it seemed like the walk that normally takes ten minutes took an hour, but I just shook it off.

At first this looked like it was going to be just another boring lunch, but then something caught my eye, or rather someone. She was a fox, like myself, sitting alone at one the many tables strewn across the room. She was by far one of the most gorgeous vixens I've ever laid my eyes on. I couldn't tell a lot from where she was sitting, but what I could see was absolutely stunning. I could tell that she must work because she had a perfect figure. And she didn't have an outrageously skinny body like some of the ten cent sluts that were at this school. Since she was facing away from him he couldn't see her face, but from how the rest of her body looked, I could only hope the rest of her was the same. But what stuck out the most was her fur color. Now I've seen red vixens and orange vixens, but never have I seen a blue vixen. And not only that, but there was a 1 in 4 chance that she's the same age as me, how much better could it get!

I must have been staring for a while because Falco started waving his wing in front of my face, "Hello, Fox are you still with me?"

After what was probably his fifth time asking me I was finally broken from my day dream, "I think I'm in love."

I probably could have worded that a little better because now Falco's looking at me like I was about to start stalking somebody, "What?"

Again, I was in the right mind set so I was really thinking correctly, "I said, I think I'm in love."

Falco response was a facepalmed, or in his a case a facewing, "Not that part you moron, with who."

I really could have been a little more cautious as to how I pointed her out, but again not the right mine set. So what do I do, I point directly at her, "Her, right there, the blue vixen wearing the gray hoodie."

It didn't take Falco long to pick her out of the crowd, I mean, how many blue vixens are there? After he found her a huge grin spread across his beak, and I started to worry. After being Falco's friend for so long I know what that look means, and I was afraid this would happen, "The new chick, yeah she insanely hot, I was thinking about asking her out."

I could have handled the situation like an adult but instead I decided to yell, "WHAT!"

Have you ever yelled at the top of your lungs in a public place? Well if you haven't, then let me tell you that it draws everyone's attention, and that is never a good thing. Quickly after my outburst I turned and did a quick scan of the room, and as fate would have it, everybody's gaze was set on us, even the mystery vixen of my dreams was staring at us. And thank god I was right about her having a face to match the rest of her body. As to save or selves from any more embarrassment, and to give us some privacy, I quickly grabbed Falco by the collar of his jacket and pulled him out into the hallway.

As soon as the double doors shut Falco decided to see why I was acting so strange, "Dude, what the hell was that all about?"

I honestly couldn't believe what I was hearing, "Really Falco? You couldn't even take a wild guess as to why I just did that?"

He just stood there scratching the top of his head, "I have no idea."

Again I gave a heavy sigh, funny, I've been doing that a lot lately, "That new girl dude, I honestly have an attraction to her."

I wasn't expecting him to laugh right now but that's what he did, "Fox, any straight guy would have an attraction to her."

Now it was my turn to facepalm, or I guess it would be facepaw, "Falco listen, I want you to promise me that you won't go after this one."

For some reason Falco's arrogant side decided to come out, as if I didn't have enough problems, "Really and why should I do that? That is probably the hottest chick ever, and I'll be dammed if I don't get the chance to get in he-"

He never even got the chance to finish his sentence as I grabbed him but the front of his jacket and shoved him up against the wall, "Dammit Falco now is not the time for you to be a prick! Now I'm asking you, please don't go after this girl. I know it's a rather large favor, but dude I need this right now, you know I do."

I could tell he didn't want to do it but sure enough he finally saw reason, "Okay dude, she's all yours; it's the least I could do to lift your spirits."

Finally I released my grip on the avian as he straightened out his attire, "Good, I was afraid I'd have to kick your ass."

We got a good laugh out of that. No matter how much it looked like we wanted to kill each other, neither of us could throw the first blow, "Now let's go find Slippy, he's probably lonely as hell."

As we entered the cafeteria for a second time I went directly to the vending machine in the corner of the room and bought a soda, I wasn't really hunger. After getting my pop I set out to find Slippy, which wasn't really a task because as soon as he saw me he started waving and yelling out my name.

Weaving my way through the obnoxious crowd I finally got to the table along my friends. Even though there were only three of us, we could have cared less. We've been friends since grade school.

Slippy, being curious as all hell, wanted to know what was with us earlier, "Hey, why did you yell earlier? And why did you two go out into the hallway?"

Even though we are all good friends, Slippy was still too naive to understand, "It was nothing, I just overreacted is all."

My answer was enough to keep Slippy content, "Of well, as long as everything is okay now."

We sat in silence before Falco broke the silence with a statement that caught me completely off guard, "Hey, since you took your claim, I'm taking mine."

At first I didn't understand what he was referring to, but after thinking back to the conversation we just had I couldn't help but grin, "Really, who?"

It seemed as though neither of us seemed to care about the fact that we might get caught as he pointed straight behind me, "That pink feline over there, I've never seen her before."

Looking back over my shoulder I instantly picked the girl out of the crowd, I mean how many pink felines could there possibly be, "Oh her, she's new here too. She's in my second hour."

Falco's seemed extremely interested now, "Really? Well, what's her name?"

To be honest I couldn't remember what I had for breakfast, "I don't know, it's cat but that isn't how she spells it, it was with a k or something."

Falco just adopted a blank look on his face, "What is with people nowadays, your name is Fox, mines Falco, Slippy's last name is Toad. Then there's Wolf, and now Katt, are people just running out of names or something."

I was about to responded when the unexpected happened, Slippy actually joined our conversation, "Oh you're talking about girls, well I actually have someone that I have a crush on too."

Well to say I was surprised would be an understatement, but I went with it, "Yeah we are, and if you don't mind, who are you putting your claim on?"

This was one of times I wish I had a camera because Slippy turned from green to red really fast, "Oh...uh well, j-just a girl in my first hour."

I always knew Slippy was shy but he was just acting ridiculous right now, "Slippy what's wrong? You don't happen to be shy do you?"

Falco and I always picked on Slippy, but you would too if you could easily get away with it, but he was still our friend. Then I had an ingenious idea, "You know what, I have a proposal for you two."

I waited till I had their attention before continuing, "Since we all have a girl were crushing on, why don't we all make a move then. In the next two weeks we need to all have our girls and whoever doesn't needs to pay the other two 20 bucks, deal."

I knew Falco would go for it, but I was a little skeptical of Slippy, but happy when they both responded with a simultaneous alright, "Then it's settled, we'll all be hooked up within the next two weeks."

_**Chapter one, it really set the bar for the rest of the story. I really like the first person POV so I stuck with it. Got two more chapters and then I'll actually have to start writing again**____**.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Yeah, chapter 2, I'm so excited. I haven't really gotten around to saying this but so much potential is wasted in many of the minds that come onto this site. You can never just brush off someone without getting to know them first. So yeah, chapter 2, not sure where this came from..**_

**Chapter 2: She Gets A Name**

The rest of lunch was rather bland. The entire time Slippy talked about some project him and his dad were working on, and I swear it made Falco fall asleep at least twice. So with the boredom of our conversation still present in my mind I trudged my way to my fifth hour, calculus.(Not a Senior, don't know their classes, so sue me) Usually my fifth hour is absolutely boring due to the fact that I don't know anyone in it except for Wolf, and me and him aren't really friends. But as soon as I entered the classroom I realized that today my fifth hour was going to be rather interesting.

The only reason I say that is because _she_is in my class, the girl that not 40 minutes ago caused me and my best friend to get into an argument. Maybe staring wasn't the best thing to do but that's what my mind was telling me to do and apparently my body was listening. To anyone watching it must have been creepy as hell, and thank god she didn't turn towards me or else I would have been struck out before even stepping up to the plate.

I quickly took my seat at the back of the room and diverted my attention to the window to my right, thoughts of this vixen still running rampant in my mind. _'Damn, I don't even know her name and I'm already completely enthralled by her presence.'_

Finally entered the classroom and saved me from my own thoughts, but before she took attendance she addressed the vixen standing by her desk, "You must be the new add-on to my class, correct?"

Her only response was a nod as the teacher took a seat at her desk, "Okay then, why don't you take the empty desk towards the back of the room next to Fox."

Again, her response was a nod as she made her way towards the desk. Instantly panic set in as she drew closer with each step, _'OH SHIT, OH SHIT, OH SHIT, don't freak out! All she's doing is sitting in the desk next to you, don't do anything stupid, and don't make yourself look like an ass!'_

Luckily the teacher started attendance, once again saving me from my thoughts, "Baxton?"

"Here."

"Dennon?"

"Here."

One-by-one each student was called off as I sat patiently, waiting to learn the name of the mystery vixen, "Jacobs?"

"Here."

"McCloud?"

"Here," It was funny, here I was, feeling anxious as all hell, and yet my response came out as calm as ever.

"O'Donnell?"

"Here." Wolf, I've never liked that guy, mainly because he was just a dick. No matter what he thought he was the best at ever thing, and he would always try and prove it. And for some reason me, Falco, and Slippy were his favorite targets.

"Webber?"

"Here."

Mrs. Eldrid looked up from the list for a few seconds and then gazed back down before saying, "You don't seem to be on my list. Oh well, I'll just add you on, what's your name?"

This was it, the moment I would finally learn the name of this beautiful vixen next to me, and the time between Mrs. Eldrid's question and the response from the girl to my left seemed to last a year, but it was only about 4 seconds, "Krystal."

_'Krystal...what a beautiful name, for such a beautiful person, with such a beautiful voice."_I was finally able to pull my gaze from her and redirect my attention back towards the teacher as she continued, "And last name?"

"I don't have one." Instantly my attention was brought back to the vixen, _'She doesn't have a last name, that's different. Then again I've never seen a blue vixen before.'_I then realized how pained filled her voice was. Just by looking at her you could tell that she was holding back tears, her head was hung low and her ears lay flat. She had the look of someone who had recently lost everything.

"You don't have a last name?" was just as curious as everyone else in the room, but I was probably the only one who actually knew that this wasn't a topic she wanted to talk about.

"No, I don't." Again her voice was full of sorrow as she brought her gaze back up to the teacher.

_'Something as beautiful as her doesn't deserve to be that hurt.'_I didn't even know her and yet here I was feeling bad just because she was upset, _'This is definitely a first.'_

"Well okay then, I guess it doesn't really matter. So with all of that sorted out, let's begin with the warm -up for today." I couldn't help but groan at just the thought of more work. "Do problems 1-30 on page 592 and when you're done turn it in. Now I want everyone to partner up mainly because this class doesn't like to talk, so maybe a little social interaction will do you good."

One-by-one the rest of my classmates chose their partners. And after about a minute of desk moving and seat swapping, it came to my attention that I had failed to get a partner, "Fox since you were the only one that didn't feel the need to get a partner, you get to be the one to show Krystal the wonderful workings that is calculus."

In all honesty I would have loved to be her partner, but at the same time was still that shy kid that hated to open up to people, especially someone I like. So with a heavy sigh I got up and started to move my desk. The way I pushed the desk made it seem like I didn't want to be her partner, and to any new kid that's not what you want to see. So with a sullen sigh, I took a seat, pulled out my text book, and got to work on the problems.

Evening though I had come to loathe almost all of my classes, that didn't mean I was a bad student. In fact, I had all A's. So after about five minutes I had all 30 problems done, and was about to push my desk back where it was. But with this being a "partner activity," I glanced over to see how Krystal was fairing first. She had about 4 problems done, and the one she was on was giving her a hard time.  
I sat there for a minute watching her scribble, erase, stop to do the math in her head, and repeat.

Finally it got to the point where I couldn't take it, so I offered my assistance, "Hey, do you need some help?"

She must have really been concentrating because the second I said something she jumped in her seat a little, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, it just looks like you could use some help is all."

Her facial features reverted back to normal as she looked over her own work, "Yeah, actually I could."

I moved slightly closer and scanned her sheet. She had 9 done now, and all of them were correct, but the time it took her to do each one was surprising, "You seem to be doing them all correct, but why is it taking you so long?"

"This is all just so confusing. It feels like my brain is about to explode." She let out an exhausted sigh to put emphasis on her point.

The way she acted made me chuckle a little, "This stuff isn't bad, it could be worst."

She didn't seem to believe me, "Are you kidding me? This stuff makes me not want to graduate!"

Again I couldn't help but chuckle, "No, you definitely want to graduate."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But it isn't just this, the way the people on this planet act is very different then what I'm used to." The minute she said that something in my mind clicked.

"Wait, so you're not from this planet?" I knew people from other planets, in fact, me and friends weren't from Corneria.

"No, I'm from a planet called Cerinia." This time I didn't catch the sadness in her voice, so I continued with the same curious attitude.

"Cerinia, never heard of it, what's it like." At the time I thought this was a decent question, but what I didn't know was I would come to hate it.

"You mean was." This time I definitely caught her change in attitude. Her entire being was screaming hurt, and I was probably making it worse. She closed her eyes as tears started to make their way down the side of her face. I've never felt so bad, and awkward, at the same time. I wanted so badly to try and cheer her up, yet at the same time I felt that if I did anything it would come off as weird.

So I decided to do what I thought was the right thing, I slowly reached over and placed a paw on her back, and started to rub it sympathetically. After about 6 minutes she started to calm down to the point where she could talk again. And after wiping away her tears she finally spoke up, "I'm...I'm sorry. It's just that every time I think about my home world and my family I just start crying."

"Why would you feel sorry for that?"

"Because it seems weak." She still had her head down and there were still a few stray tears, but she was starting to cheer back up.

"You think that crying for the loved ones that you lose in your lifetime makes you weak? All that does is show that you have a heart, and that you're still capable of feeling something. And if that's considered being weak, then I guess I'm weak too." Finally Krystal was able to meet my gaze as a smile crept up on her face.

She opened her mouth as to speak but stopped herself short, and instead leaned forward and softly pecked my cheek. As she pulled way I could feel my face instantly warm-up, "Thanks Fox, I really appreciate it."

This entire time I was able to keep myself collected, but not anymore, "D-d-don't m-mention it."

Her response was a giggle that made my heart melt. Then I realized that I still had my paw resting on her back so I quickly retracted it and muttered a quick apology, "Sorry, forgot it was there."

She was still smiling so I knew I was in the clear, "it's okay. And to be honest I really didn't mind."

Right then I knew that we were going to be great friends, and in the future hopefully something more. But right now I still have some math to help her with, "Krystal, maybe we should get back to math, we probably only have like 10 minutes."

She just smiled one of those amazing smiles and picked up her pen, "Sounds good to me."

The rest of the school day was extremely dull. After the warm-up we spent the entire class period listening to give a lecture. And as for my 6 and 7 periods. Well, they were pretty much a repeat of my fifth, minus the part about Krystal crying that is.

Thankfully Falco was in my sixth hour or I would have died of boredom. And as awesome as it seems Krystal, Katt, and Slippy's crush Amanda are all in my seventh hour. And it amazed me that they were already friends. I was just glad that halfway through work time Krystal came over to work by me. It made the hour seem to fly by.

And that's what got me to where I am now. Walking away from my locker with Falco on my right and Slippy on my left. Like always Slippy had struck up some weird conversation about some science thing he was working on and it was really boring the hell out of me, but at least it was better than silence.

We were just about to exit the building when I heard my name being called out, "Fox, wait up!"

I don't like how when you're walking with a group of people when someone calls out to one of you all turn to look, but that always happens and this was no exception. As I spun around I was instantly greeted with the sight of Krystal.

Just seeing her was enough to bring a smile to my face, "Oh, hey Krystal, what's up?"

She held out her arm and when I reached out to meet hers she dropped a small, folded-up piece of paper, "I forgot to give you this earlier. I was going to give you it at the end of seventh period, but you left to quickly."

I unraveled the piece of paper and found a 10 digit number, "What's this?"

She smiled as she started to fit her textbooks in her bag, "It's my phone number. I was just thinking that maybe you could give me a call sometime."

As she said the last part she had a slight blush accompanying her answer. You could barely see it, but it was there, "Definitely. Anyways, I guess I'll talk to you later."

She turned in the opposite direction and started to walk off, "Okay, I'll see you later Fox, Bye!"

I waved as the vixen finally left my field of vision. And as she did, I instantly spun around and with a huge grin and held up the piece of paper, "Well, looks like I'm not going to owe any of you anything."

Falco definitely did not like the fact that I was currently in the lead, "Just because she gave you her number doesn't mean that you guys are automatically going to hook-up."

I let out a sigh, not because I was starting to hate the way Falco was acting recently, but rather because I knew that there was truth behind what he was saying, "I know, and I can only hope that eventually we'll head down that road, but as for now, I'm just glad to be able to know her and call her a friend. Plus, have either of you made any progress?"

Falco turned around and pushed through the double doors leading to the school parking lot, "No, and I really hope that I get a chance to speak with Katt alone, but every class we have together she's always talking with one of her friends. And I can't just go up to her and say "Hey, can I talk to you alone for a minute" that would seem extremely creepy."

"I know exactly how you feel, but luckily Krystal's the only person I know in my fifth hour and the teacher assigned us as partners. And then in my seventh hour, she left her group of friends to come and hang out with me, so I guess I just get lucky." I turned my attention from the avian to my right to the amphibian to my left, "And what about you Slippy? Have you made any progress?"

Again, Slippy is a great friend but when he pretty much starts bouncing up and down from excitement, then I draw the line, "Slippy calm the fuck down okay? All I did was ask a simple question, no need to go off and have a panic attack."

Slippy got a hold of himself and started talking, "Actually, I've made some progress. She is exactly like me! We have a lot of the same tastes in everything. I can't believe how well we get along!"

I couldn't hold it any longer. I instantly burst out laughing to the point where I was having trouble breathing. Slippy and Falco were giving me the classic "what the fuck" looks but I didn't care. Finally I was able to get a hold of my breathe as I stood back-up, "I can't believe I've lived to see the day that Falco Lombardi is getting schooled by Slippy Toad in the art of picking-up chicks. That sir, is just sad."

"Shut it fur boy! I'm gonna be laughing in your face when me and Slippy have our girls and you're stuck in the friend zone." I dropped my happy mood in an instant and it was replaced with nothing but seriousness.

I slowly started to walk over to my car as I turned back to my two friends, "Dude, don't even kid about that kind of stuff. I don't want to let this one get away."

Falco just threw his hands up in the air and started off towards the buses, "Yeah yeah, I know."

I shook my head as I unlocked the driver's side to my car. I loved having a car of my own. Usually I would give my friends a ride, but today I just felt like being alone. So after an uneventful car ride home I pulled into the driveway and threw my car into park. I got out and turned back to my house. It was a fairly large two story, three including the basement, house that I inherited when my parents were killed.

I shook my head to try and ride my mind of these thoughts. I quickly unlocked the front door and instantly made my way to the kitchen for something to eat. After making my sandwich I made my way into the living room and turned on the T.V. to try and drown out some of my own thoughts. Being in this house alone would always bring back thoughts of my parents, and all the good times we had together, _'Now I know how Krystal felt earlier.'_

I dug into my right pocket and pulled out the phone number that Krystal had given me. I just sat there, starring at the 10 digit number, wondering if calling now would be too soon. _'Well, it's worth a shot.'_I reached over and grabbed my phone and started dialing the number...

-10 Minutes Earlier-

-Krystal's POV-

"Oh man, what was I thinking?" I was hurriedly rushing back and forth between my pile of clothes considered a dresser, and my bottomless pit known as a closet looking for my phone. "Why did I decide to just throw my pants in with my dirty laundry without checking the pockets?"

"Krystal dinner will be ready in 15 minutes!" My mom's shout had caused me to stop and look at the door, instantly thanking her as I spotted my pants hanging on the back of the door, "Ha, I knew I was better than that!"

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and lazily chucked the pair of pants over my head and into my closet. I fell back onto my bed while reaching over to grab my laptop off my nightstand. Before I could even get comfortable my mom barged into my room, "Krystal did you even hear me?"

I set my laptop off to my right and scooted to the edge of my bed, "Yes mom, dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

I thought that she was just going to leave me alone but instead her eyes went wide as she got a glimpse of both my closet and my dresser, "Krystal! Why is your room so dirty?"

_'Oops, really should have put my clothes back."_I stood up and started to sort through my dresser, "Sorry, I was trying to find my phone; I'll get this cleaned up soon."

"Well okay, just do what you can and I'll tidy it tomorrow." With that my mom left me to myself. My new parents weren't bad, but they already had a son and he's one year younger than me, yet almost a foot taller, so he's always picking on me. But, they treat me like one of their own, so I guess I'm lucky.

After about ten minutes I had my room looking like it did before I "lost" my phone. I looked at the cause of all my trouble and started to think about some of the worst outcomes, _'What if he thinks I'm desperate or something! No...no he wouldn't think that, we're just friends...nothing more.'_ I knew that I definitely felt something towards Fox, yet I had never been in a relationship before so I had no idea on what to do.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to wait." I flopped back onto my bed and went to reach for my laptop, but before I got it my phone started to go off. Picking it up I realized I didn't know the number, instantly I started to get my hopes up. I took three deep breathes and then answered the phone...

-Present Time-

-Fox's POV-

_'Why hell do people never pick up when they're the ones that gave me their number?'_It had only rang three times but to me it felt like twenty. I had almost giving up hope when I heard someone pick up on the other side, "Hello?"

Just hearing her voice was enough to brighten my mood, hell, I could have sat there all day just listening to her talk, but then I realized I was still on the line, "Hey Krystal, its Fox."

"Hey Fox, What's up?" She seemed just as happy as she did at school when she gave me her number.

"Not much, I was just sitting at home doing nothing and I wanted to talk to someone, and you were the best option." I slouched back into the sofa and propped my feet up on the coffee table.

"Really? I know you have tons of friends so I doubt that I was the best option." I could tell by the playfulness in her voice that she was just kidding, but she had actually caught me in a lie.

"Fine, you got me. To be honest I just wanted to hear your voice." My own eyes went wide as I thought about what I had said, _'Did I really just say that? Wow, I've never had this much confidence before.'_

"Oh and why would that be?" She must have not expected that, because the way she responded I could tell that she was blushing.

"Because it's beautiful." Again I had surprised myself with my own comment, _'Damn, I've never been this smooth before in my life. At least I'm not stuttering like an idiot."_

"Well, was there any other reason you called other than to flatter me?" I started to think that I had a chance, _'It's either all, or nothing. Gotta give it a shot.'_

"Actually there is. I was wondering, do you have anything planned this weekend?" To say I was getting excited would be an understatement. My heart was pounding to no end and my palms felt like I had stuck them in a sauna.

"No, why?" It had almost sounded like she was excited too, but it was probably just me hearing things.

"I was wondering if you wanted to maybe go catch a movie or something?" The nervousness that usually resides in me finally started to resurface. Her response didn't come out right way so naturally I started to think of the worst outcome, _'Fuck, I knew this was a bad idea. I should have just kept my mouth sh-'_

"I would love to." I was kicked out from my nervous state and thrown into mild shock.

"Really?"

"Yeah, when were you planning on going?" Still trying to get my mind to grasp the fact that that this was really happening, I did my best to respond.

"Umm, probably Saturday. I was already planning on going but I didn't want to go alone." I was happy. This was probably the best thing that could have happened to me right now, but then Falco's words started to echo through my mind, _'"I'm gonna be laughing in your face when me and Slippy have our girls and you're stuck in the friend zone!," 'He's right, there's no need to get my hopes up.'_

Krystal's voice brought me out of my own thoughts, "Sounds good, but couldn't you have asked me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, but like I said earlier, I just like hearing your voice." By now I realized that I didn't have to hide the real me from Krystal, I could just act like how I felt.

-Krystal's POV-

"Quit it, you're making me blush." I've had guys flatter me and hit on me before, but with Fox it was different, he was much nicer with his comments.

"Sorry, but it's the truth." Some people see the way he apologizes for everything as a flaw, but I think it's cute.

"Krystal, dinner's ready!" I gave a heavy sigh, not because I was upset with anything my mother had done, but because I knew that I had to end my conversation with Fox. And somehow it seems that he noticed this, "Something wrong?"

"No, my mom just told me that dinners ready, so I have to go. "

"No problem, we'll talk tomorrow."

"Yeah you're right, well g'night."

"Goodnight." And with that the other side of the line went dead signaling that he had ended the call. The last thing I had expected to happen tonight was for Fox to call me and ask me to the movies on Saturday.

But then I realized what all of this could possibly mean, _'So he does like me. Then that means that he just asked me out on a date!'_

Then another part of me piped in, _'Just because he asked you to go to the movies with him doesn't mean that it's going to be a date, he's probably just being a good friend.'_

I'm not quite sure why I was arguing with myself but I had to instill some kind of confidence into me, _'If he was being a good friend then why would he not invite any of his other friends?"_

I managed to get my point across to myself, _'Just because he didn't invite any of his other friends doesn't mean that this is a date, just let him make the first move. If he does then you have your answer, and if doesn't, then you have your answer as well'_

I made my way down the stairs with one thought going through my mind, _'Saturday is going to be a night to remember...'_

-Fox's POV-

I just sat there, with my phone in my hand and a smile on my face, _'Wow, she actually agreed to go with me, but maybe she was just being nice?'_

_'No way man, she definitely has a thing for you.'_I didn't expect to her a rebuttal from myself but I went along with it anyways, _'And how do you know that?'_

I shook my head to try and rid myself from...well...myself, _'I don't, but here's what you have to do to find out. Let her make the first move, if she does then then she likes you more than a friend, if she doesn't, then I guess you guys are going to be just friends.'_

Honestly, I couldn't beat that logic, _'Got it, let her make the first move.'_

I was finally able to push all of my thoughts out of my head as I headed to the kitchen. Popping open the fridge I reached in and grabbed one of the unopened sodas and shut the door, only to greeted with a picture. The picture was of me and my family last year on a trip to the country side. I couldn't help but let a few stray tears go as I stared into the faces of my deceased family.

Through all of the pain that picture had brought me, I still had a smile on my face. Even though it made me miss them to no end, it still reminded me of all the great times we had together. Gently, as to not tear the photo, I took it from its place from under the magnet and brought it over the mantle and placed it into one of the unused picture frames adjourned there.

I took a step back and was finally able to cease my tears, "I'll always miss you guys, you were the greatest parents I could have asked for." I wiped my eyes one last time before turning back to the couch, "Might as well see what's on T.V., it is only 7:30."

I flicked it over from the news to something that would have been a little more enjoyable and cracked open the can to be greeted by the strong citrus smell that I had come to enjoy, "I still can't believe everything that has happened today, it seems like I had only meet Krystal a few hours ago...oh wait, I did."

I let out a content sigh as I gazed up into the ceiling wondering about the days to come, _'One thing's for certain, Saturday will be a night to remember..."_

_**First time I ever had two chapters that had more than 4,000 words in them. I took my time with this story. The creativity was a no brainer and the plot just fell out of the sky. So chapter 2 has come and gone and now it's time for chapter 3.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Third times the charm people. Once you get that third chapter out you officially make a commitment to your story and now it's time to buckle down for the long haul.**_

**Chapter 3: Phone calls**

*_**Beep Beep Beep**_* "Ughh...five more minutes." I pulled my pillow over my head to try and block out the persistent beeping of my alarm clock, but to no avail. I rolled over and hit the the snooze button on my alarm and pulled myself into an upright position. I had set my alarm fifteen minutes earlier then need be and it was starting to affect my mornings, "Just another habit I need to break." After wiping the sleep out of my eyes I reluctantly pulled the sheets off of my lower body and swung my legs over the side of my bed. I grabbed my right elbow and twisted to the left resulting with the room being filled with several audible cracks. After repeating the same process with my left elbow I started to stand up. But before I could even get off my bed something on my nightstand started going off. At first I thought it was my alarm going off again so I reached over and picked that up. It didn't take long for me to realize that it wasn't my alarm making all the noise so I started reaching around my little table. _'Oh how I wish the lights were on right now.'_Finally I got a hold of what was making all of the noise. I must have been really out of it because apparently I couldn't even distinguish the difference between my alarm, and my phones ring tone.

Without even looking to see who it was I touched the call button and put the phone to my ear, "Who you fuck are you and what do you want?" I wasn't really in a talking mood so whoever was on the other side better be dying or about to tell me something unfucking believable.

"Good morning to you to sunshine." As soon as I heard his voice I groaned internally.

"Falco, what the hell do you want?" Lately Falco had been acting different and it was starting to piss me off. I would actually prefer him being a prick over this because at least then I would know that he was still him.

"I was just wondering if you give me a ride to school later?" I reached over and grabbed my alarm to get the time, 6:18. "You honestly needed to call me at six in the fucking morning even though school starts in about an hour and a half? Better question, why the fuck are you awake right now?" Falco may have been called several things in the past but morning person was never one of them.

"I'm not entirely sure. I just couldn't sleep." I let out a sigh as I ran my hand through the fur on the top of my head, "Uhhh fuck, I'll be there around 7:20."

Falco may have ruined my morning but that was no reason to be a jerk, "Sweet, I'll be here."

I was about to hang up when I realized I actually had something to say, "Hey, while I got you on the phone, guess what I'm doing to tomorrow?"

I usually wasn't one to gloat, but Falco had this coming, "How the hell should I know?"

With a grin I was already imagining the kind of responses I would get from the avian, "Well, I'm going to the movies."

I could have just told him the whole story right off the bat, but where would the fun be in that? "You're going to the movies by yourself?"

"No, I'm going to the movies with Krystal." From my end of the line I could tell Falcos jaw dropped which told me that I had accomplished my goal.

Which apparently Falco didn't like, "What! Since when?"

I just held my grin as I finally got out of bed, "Since last night, see you in a hour."

"Hey wait, we aren't done talking about thi-" And with that I hung up on him.

Now I was in a good mood, and was hoping for a peaceful morning. But apparently I wasn't even entitled to that because the second I got dressed my phone started going off. "Oh for fucks sake." I pulled my phone out of my pocket and without checking to see who it was I answered, "What!"

"Oh good, you're awake." There are several things that you don't want to hear in the morning, and Slippys voice was one of them.

"Slippy, what do you want?" Sure I was still pissed, but after my conversation with Falco I wasn't going to get all worked up.

"I was wondering if you could give me a ride later?" I pinched my forehead in annoyance, "What am I to you guys, a taxi?"

"What?"

Of course it went right over Slippys head, "Yeah I'll be there after I get Falco."

"K, see ya when ya get here." And with that Slippy hung up.

I put my phone back into my pocket and went downstairs to grab something to eat. I didn't even make it halfway down the stairs before my phone went off, "What do people find so interesting about me this early in the fucking morning!" I dug my hand into my pocket to get my phone out _again._ But unlike my last two calls I actually looked to see who this one was. And when I did my mood changed drastically. Slowly, I hit the call tab and brought it up to my ear waiting for them to say something first.

"Fox, It's Peppy." I couldn't help but let a small smile form on my face from hearing the voice of an old friend.

"I recognized the military front code and figured it would either be you or Pepper." Since both of my parents were contracted mercenaries for the CDF, I spent most my time either with Peppy when it was just my parents on a mission, or with Pepper if it required all of the Star Fox team. And overtime they became like family to me. I hadn't heard from either of them since the funeral, so hearing from one of them now was quite a surprise.

"Listen Fox, there's something I need to talk to you about. Something in your parents will that had yet to be discussed with you. Do you have a minute?" Over the course of our conversation I had moved into the kitchen and was currently sitting in one of the chairs surrounding the table. I glanced over to the clock situated on the microwave to see it reading 6:28, "Yeah, I got time..."

**-Falcos POV-**

"Dammit!" I could understand why Fox would gloat about going to the movies with Krystal, but he acted like a total dick about it. I wasn't to pressed considering in a hour I was going to light his ass up. For the next four minutes I just rummaged through my closet looking for a clean jacket. Once I realized I didn't have a clean jacket I just grabbed the closest one off of the floor. Just as I was about to head out of my room my phone started ringing. Looking at the screen I saw the title "geek" with a ten digit number under it. After tapping answer I headed out of my room, "Slippy what do you want?"

"I just called Fox and he said that he was going to pick you up and then get me, which means that he's picking you up too, right?" Slippy was one of the smartest kids I knew, yet at times you honestly wonder what goes through his head.

"Yes Slippy that is exactly what it means. You said that you talked to Fox, he didn't mention his plans for tomorrow did he?" I understood why Fox gloated to me, but I had a feeling that he wouldn't say anything to Slippy.

"Nooooooo, why?" _'I knew it, I fucking knew it.'_I withheld a harsh outburst as I opened the door to the refrigerator and grabbed something to drink.

"He told me that him and Krystal are going to the movies tomorrow, can you believe that?"

"Yeah, I can. Sunday me and Amanda are going out, so why shouldn't Fox and Krystal?" Instantly my jaw hit the floor. I was in dead last in our little bet and it seemed like it would stay that way. It wasn't the fact that they were going to win, but rather what they were going to win at. I always thought that out of the three of us that I was the best at picking up chicks, yet here I am now. In dead last in a competition of sorts where the main objective is to be the first person to get their girl.

I would've kept complaining to myself if it wasn't for Slippy, "Falco, hello? Are you still there?"

"Yeah yeah, keep your damn pants on. I'll see ya when we get there." Usually when Slippy calls me we get into a huge argument over practically nothing. The only reason we didn't fight in public is because Fox is usually there to make sure we don't try and kill each other.

Most people saw Fox as the leader of our little group, and as much as I would deny it to anyone who would ask, it was the truth. It wasn't like he appointed himself, but it was pretty much given to him because he seemed like the best option out of the three of us. Slippy didn't necessarily have the personality or strength to have the burden of supporting his friends. And I always want to start fights with people that get on my nerves. Fox, he always seems so calm and collected all the time even though he lost both of his parents two weeks ago. So saying he's weak would be like calling Corneria flat.

Me and him have been friends for as long as I can remember. And every time I needed help, he would be there to lend a hand. I remember this one time I had been challenged to a fight by a group of punks during my sophomore year. I told Slippy and Fox to stay out of it and that I needed to do it by myself, and they actually agreed. But when it came time to fight, the group of three I had initially challenged grew into a group of six. I considered myself to be fairly strong, but even I knew I was going to get my ass kicked. Right before it all went down someone walked up behind me and put their hand on my shoulder, "Are you sure you don't need help?"

When I turned around I was brought face-to-face with an all to familiar vulpine. I was surprised to see Fox, but was happy that I didn't have that I didn't have to do it alone.

"Didn't I tell you guys to sit this one out?"

"Slippy listened, but I knew better." Inside I was jumping for joy. Now I wasn't going to get my face stomped in.

"Well, let's do this..." 15 minutes later I was picking myself off of the alley floor and up against the dumpster that was located behind me.

"That...was a fucking nightmare." I looked across from me to see Fox sitting against a brick wall.

"Yeah, well at least we didn't break anything." As soon as the words left my mouth I felt a sudden surge of pain through my left shoulder, "I think."

Fox stood up and made his way over to me, "Let's get out of here, this place smells terrible." He offered me a hand up and I gladly accepted. Once up off the ground we headed out of the alley and onto the main street.

We walked for about six minutes before I broke the silence, "Thanks for showing up even though I told you not to."

I expected Fox to rub it in my face and gloat because I normally would, but his response was much different, "Your ego is going to get you killed one day."

I looked over expecting him to be grinning and joking about the whole thing, but he wasn't. He was being serious, "But right now we're friends and I don't want to see you get killed."

"Fox listen-"

"No, you listen Falco!" He stopped and turned me so I was facing him, "Look at us. We look like we just got our asses handed to us. And do you wanna know why? It's because we did!" We didn't look too messed up. But under the fur and feathers we were probably developing some serious bruises.

"Dude it was just a fight."

"No, a fight is usually between two people, not six. And the only reason that you're still standing is because I showed up to save your sorry ass." And with that he turned and walked. I just stood there, letting what was just said sink in.

And after realizing what he meant by all that I jogged up beside him, "So, what? Are we not friends anymore?" Again he stopped and turned his gaze towards me.

"I just want you to promise me that I won't ever have to bail your ass out again." Two dudes promising each other something is kinda strange but this was the only way we could get pass this.

"I promise."

"Then let's shake on it." He stuck out his left paw which was weird to me because he's right handed. As soon as I grabbed his hand I realized why it was his left. He jerked our conjoined grasp downwards in a violent matter resulting in another wave of pain coursing through my shoulder.

"Jesus McCloud, what the fuck was that for?" I started to rub my shoulder blade to try and sooth the pulsing feeling coming from the joint.

"To make sure that you took me seriously, now let's go." And even to this day I've held my promise. I shook myself out of the flashback and back to reality to see that I still had about thirty minutes to go. So with nothing else to really do I plopped down on the couch and grabbed the remote.

**-Fox's POV-**

I set down the remote and just sat there letting everything that was just told to me sink in. I had expected something to come up but this, this was just to much. I started to realize how much of an effect this would have on my life. Peppys call had literally changed my future, and there wasn't a whole lot I could do about it. I looked back at the clock to see it reading 7:12. I still had a little bit of time before I had to leave, but at this point nothing appealed to me.

I would have been content with just sitting there with just my thoughts to accompany me, but apparently I can't be left alone because at that time my phone started going off for the fourth time within the hour. I seriously thought about just breaking my phone but after the last call I got I realized that it may be important. At first I thought it was going to be Falco because of how I ended our conversation, but when I checked to see who it was I was confused and surprised. It was an unlisted number that I knew, meaning that it didn't have a name to go with it. And there was only one number that I knew that didn't have a title, excluding the CDF because of there special 8 digit code, and that was Krystals.

I didn't know how to answer because of the situation but decided about just being calm about everything. After taking a few more seconds to collect myself I answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Fox, it's Krystal." My mood he changed from sleepy, to grouchy, to happy, to confused, and now to peaceful. Every time I hear her voice it's like every problem I have just disappears.

I realized that I had just been sitting there with the phone to my ear for a little to long and decided to actually respond, "Hey Krystal, What's going on?"

"I'm sorry to call so early but I need to ask a favor." I found the irony in the situation to be humorous. So far everyone that had called me today has asked for a favor, so what would be the problem with adding one more?

"It's all right; you wouldn't be the first person to call me today." I let my mind wonder what the reason of the call could be, and at first they were all positive. But over time my mind started to think come up with some terrible thoughts so I just stopped thinking completely.

"Oh, so someone else has called you this morning."

"No not just one person, but three." I felt the need to be laid back whenever I talked to Krystal, which to me was odd. Most of the time when I talk to a girl it's like I'm trying incredibly hard to impress them. Or if I'm at a party that Falco told me about I just say a few things and then I go in a different room and enjoy the night with them(I hope you all get what this is talking about). I out grew both of those habits and now I just try and be myself. "But I'm sure you didn't call to hear about my morning."

"Right, the favor. Well, usually my step parents or my step brother drive me to school because there is no busing near me. But my brother is at a friends across town, and my parents left for a business trip yesterday, so I'm left without a ride to school today." It didn't take me long to put two and two together.

"So I'm guessing that you need a ride to school today, right?" I held in a chuckle as I realized almost all of my friends thought of me as just a guy with a ride.

"Yeah! And I was hoping that it wouldn't be to much to ask." To be honest it wasn't to much of a chore, but I wanted to have a little fun.

"I don't know, do think that I'd have enough time to get you?" I was just being playful but it went right over Krystals head.

"Fox come on, I really need a ride!" I facepawed as I realized she didn't catch the sarcasm my voice held.

"Krystal, I was just kidding, of course I'll give you a ride. But I need to know where to pick you up at."

It was at this point that I remembered that Krystal wasn't from this planet, and that maybe they didn't use sarcasm like we did.

"Oh, I knew that. I live on 1146 Rater St." This confirmed my earlier thought of her home planet.

"Okay, I'll be there in about twenty to twenty five minutes." I didn't know exactly where her house was, but I knew where the road was.

"Sweet! I guess I'll see you later." And with that the call ended. I got up from the couch and just stood there staring at my phone. Of all the years I've had a phone my life has never been changed by it before. Yet the most significant thing that has ever been told to me was over this stupid little device.

Thinking back to my conversation with Peppy my thoughts drifted over to all of my friends and how it will eventually affect them. And the longer I thought about it, I realized that if me and Krystal ever started dating it would have noticeable repercussions on her as well. I knew I had four months to get everything situated, but a lot could happen in four months. And I'm not sure if I'll be able to handle it all. But at the end of those four months it will all change. For better or for worse, it will happen. I took one last look around my house before heading out the door...

_**Yeah a boring chapter about people calling other people. Maybe there's some foreshadowing in there but I'll never tell. Chapter 4 will be something of a masterpiece, in my eyes at least.**_


End file.
